Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement made during the Alcohol Misuse Debate on 7 December 2000, when it will launch the consultation process leading to the development of a national plan for action.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is today launching an inclusive consultation process which will last until 30 June and lead to the production by the end of this year of a comprehensive plan for action on alcohol misuse. This will emphasise the partnership nature of policy development on alcohol misuse and help us to shape a shared action plan to provide a framework for action at national and local level. A copy of the consultation document is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 11112).

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12006 by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 January 2001, what the current timetable is for the establishment of the national service network for autistic spectrum disorder, which organisations are being consulted regarding its establishment and what the timetable is for the establishment of the Scottish Centre for Learning Disabilities including the location, staffing and remit.

Malcolm Chisholm: As to the national service network for autistic spectrum disorders, I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1O-2810 on 18 January ( Official Report, Vol.10, Col. 420).

  The procurement process for the Scottish Centre for Learning Disabilities leading to the award of grant is well under way but many of the areas relating to the location, staffing and operational aspects of the new centre are still uncertain and subject to clarification and negotiation with applicants. Due to confidentiality constraints, further details cannot be made public at this stage. The Executive expects to award the grant soon for commencement on 1 April 2001.

Crown Estate

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is consulted as a matter of course on the appointment of the Crown Estate Commissioners.

Henry McLeish: Crown Estate Commissioners are appointed by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Prime Minister on the advice of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Scotland. As the management of the Crown Estate is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act, there is no formal requirement for the Scottish Executive to be consulted about such appointments.

Disability Scotland

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has entered into a contract with the Enham Trust to take over the role of Disability Scotland and, if so, on what date the contract was formally and legally agreed.

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was carried out with disability groups regarding the appointment of the Enham Trust as a replacement for Disability Scotland and what the start and end dates were of any consultation period.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has not entered into a contract with the Enham Trust. The Administrator of Disability Scotland has submitted a proposal on the future of Disability Scotland and we are considering this.

Employment

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money is paid to the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust and how this money is paid; what system is used to allocate unemployed people to employers and thereafter to courses; what monitoring of the course standards takes place to ensure that personnel sponsored by the Trust meet the highest skill and health and safety standards of the electrical trade, and whether any payment to further education colleges is dependent on the successful completion of courses.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I will ask them to write to Mr Campbell with the information requested.

Employment

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any jobs are expected to be lost in Scotland in the event of a merger between the Bank of Scotland and (a) Abbey National plc or (b) Lloyds TSB; if so, how many will be lost in each case and, if it does not hold any such estimates, whether it will investigate the implications for jobs in Scotland of each of these potential mergers, and what the reason is for its position on this matter.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive recognise that all three of these companies are important employers in Scotland. While the Executive has been noting developments, there are no detailed figures available at this stage on what the possible consequences of any merger would be for employment in Scotland.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a budget of £500,000 will become available for national training organisations in April 2001 and, if so, whether it will clarify what the targets and objectives will be in relation to this fund.

Ms Wendy Alexander: £500,000 will be made available to National Training Organisations by the Executive in each of the financial years 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 to assist with the development of the network in Scotland. The focus will be on promoting workplace learning, assessing skills needs and gathering labour market intelligence.

Environment

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Executive will make available in full its report An Exploration of Regional Climate Change Scenarios for Scotland .

Henry McLeish: I welcome this opportunity to inform Parliament that the full report of this important study for Scotland will be published tomorrow.

Flood Prevention

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to impose statutory duties relating to flood defence and flood warning.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Executive has no plans to impose statutory duties relating to flood prevention or flood warning beyond those introduced by the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997.

Flood Prevention

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11310 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 November 2000, whether any local authorities have to date made applications for funding for flood prevention schemes in future years and, if so, whether it will provide details of each proposed scheme and specify the amount of funding (a) sought and (b) awarded in each case.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The non-housing programme capital allocation to local authorities provides resources for various capital work projects, including flood prevention schemes.

  In addition, subject to completing the statutory process under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, supplementary allocation may be available for the construction of major flood prevention schemes (FPS). Recently, flood prevention schemes have been confirmed for Bridge of Earn, Moredun, Paisley, River Kelvin, Collier Street, Johnston and Weem Village.

  Following requests by councils, supplementary allocations have been provided recently to:

  Perth and Kinross Council for Bridge of Earn FPS (£0.75 million);

  Renfrewshire Council for Moredun, Paisley FPS (£1 million), and

  East Dunbartonshire Council for the River Kelvin FPS (£8 million).

  The amounts provided fully met the councils’ requests.

  A further request from Renfrewshire Council for a supplementary allocation of £1 million for the Collier Street, Johnston FPS has just been received and is being considered.

Flood Prevention

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was allocated to flood protection schemes in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 and which applicants received funding in each of these years, specifying the amount awarded to each project in each year.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The single allocation which local authorities receive in support of their non-housing capital programme includes provision for, among other things, expenditure on flood prevention. Separately, following flooding in recent years, resources for this programme have been enhanced to cater for major flood prevention schemes. In response to requests from councils who had experienced severe flooding in their areas, additional funding was issued to councils to support the development of flood prevention measures as shown in the table:

  


1997-98
  

Renfrewshire Council
  

£1.0 million
  



1998-99
  

Moray Council
  

£0.4 million
  


 

East Dunbartonshire Council
  

£0.3 million
  


 

Renfrewshire Council
  

£0.3 million
  


 

East Ayrshire Council
  

£1.2 million
  



1999-2000
  

Renfrewshire Council
  

£1.0 million
  



  In addition, awards from the former Central Challenge Fund were made to East Ayrshire Council for flood prevention measures in Kilmarnock and to Perth and Kinross Council for construction of the Perth Flood Prevention Scheme:

  


1997-98
  

East Ayrshire Council
  

£1.47 million
  


 

Perth and Kinross Council
  

£1.82 million
  



1998-99
  

East Ayrshire Council
  

£0.41 million
  


 

Perth and Kinross Council
  

£4.4 million
  



1999-2000
  

Perth and Kinross Council
  

£7.1 million

Food Safety

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any evidence that the levels of dioxins in farmed salmon could harm human health and what ongoing research is being conducted into this matter.

Susan Deacon: On matters of food safety the Scottish Executive is advised by the Food Standards Agency. After close examination of current research, the agency advises that levels of dioxins in farmed salmon are unlikely to harm human health, where salmon is consumed as part of a healthy, balanced diet. The independent expert Committee on Toxicity (COT) is currently conducting a review of dioxins, at the request of the Food Standards Agency, in order to establish guidance on safe tolerable exposure levels to these chemicals. The agency has asked the COT to consider any new evidence which becomes available as part of its review.

Freedom of Information

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally bound in any way by the provisions of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if not, what the precise status and effect of the code is.

Mr Jim Wallace: Paragraph 8 of Part 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information states that the "Code is non-statutory and cannot override provisions contained in statutory rights of access to information or records (nor can it override statutory prohibitions on disclosure)."

Freedom of Information

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposed Freedom of Information Bill will allow public access to internal documents and discussions, including advice to ministers; if so, whether any such papers in relation to the problems with this year’s exam results will become publicly available if the Bill is passed, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive’s draft Freedom of Information Bill will in due course be published for consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny. In paragraph 4.17 of the Executive’s consultation document, An Open Scotland, it was stated that "We consider it necessary that government should continue to have an appropriate degree of privacy to conduct its internal debates, to receive advice, to develop policy and to make decisions. Failure to provide adequate protection for these processes can undermine a government’s ability to choose objectively between options and to maintain collective responsibility".

General Practitioners

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the whole of Scotland has access to GP services of the highest quality.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is determined to improve access to primary care services. Section 4 of Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change sets out our commitment to ensure that patients in every part of Scotland can get access to an appropriate member of the primary care team in no more than 48 hours.

  The development of Personal Medical Services (PMS) will allow Trusts and primary care teams to agree local contracts to meet the specific needs of the local population and deliver clear improvements in quality. PMS will also enable PCTs to employ salaried GPs to fill gaps in current service provision and enhance existing services, particularly in deprived and remote and rural areas.

  The development of NHS 24, which will provide the public of Scotland with 24-hour access to advice and information, will ensure that patients are provided with direct access to the appropriate health or care service in one phone call. NHS 24 will build links with GPs and their out-of-hours services, as well as other NHS services, to ensure that a fully integrated system is put in place.

  Section 8 of the Scottish Health Plan also gives details of our intention to ensure a greater focus on quality by simplifying and streamlining the current GP contract.

General Practitioners

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what training is currently available to GPs and their staff in respect of the use of information and communication technologies.

Susan Deacon: Training for GPs and practice staff in respect of the use of information and communication technologies is co-ordinated by Primary Care Trusts and island health boards on the basis of locally identified needs.

  A national strategy for Information Management & Technology (IM&T) training in primary care, against which local training strategies will be reviewed, will be published shortly.

Higher Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report prepared by JMN Consultants on the cost of funding various departments of higher education will be published and, if so, when or, alternatively, whether the evidence given to the consultants regarding the cost of funding language departments and students will be published, specifying the reason for the position on this matter.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned such a report. The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council published a report it commissioned from JM Consulting on the costs of provision in higher education on its website on 19 December 2000 as part of its consultation on its Review of Teaching Funding.

Higher Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the unit of teaching resource per full-time equivalent student has been in language departments in universities in each year from 1996 to date and what it will be for the coming academic year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The units of teaching resource are determined by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and are published in their Circular series each March. The information requested is included in the Funded Subject Group: Humanities, Languages & Mass Communication and is given in the table.

  


1996-97
  

1997-98
  

1998-99
  

1999-2000
  

2000-01
  



£3,444
  

£3,513
  

£3,698
  

£3,777
  

£3,834

Junior Doctors

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to help health boards meet the costs of implementing European working time regulations with particular reference to junior doctors.

Susan Deacon: The agreement reached last year between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers provides for up to nine years (with a further three years at member state’s discretion) to implement the Working Time Directive for doctors in training. The Executive will work with health boards, Trusts and doctors’ representatives to implement the Directive. The necessary changes to working practices and the cost of implementation will be addressed as part of this work. The Executive is committed to substantial increases in NHS expenditure over the next three years.

  It will be for local NHS bodies to manage the increased resources available to them to meet the health needs in their areas.

Learning Disabilities

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with attention deficiency disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each of the last three years, broken down by health board.

Susan Deacon: The information is not available centrally in the form requested. However, information from a sample of GP records in practices across Scotland whose population is nationally representative suggests the following numbers of patients with attention deficiency disorder (ADD)/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were seen by GPs in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. It is not possible to provide information prior to 1998-1999 because the codes used to record ADD/ADHD were not in use before that period.

  


Year
  

Estimated number of patients
  



1998-99
  

1,600
  



1999-2000
  

1,800
  



  These data refer to diagnoses known to the patients’ GP. There may be other patients whose condition is managed by specialist services, such as child psychiatry, who may not see their GP for these conditions and will therefore not be included in the data.

Lifelong Learning

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consequential funding it has been allocated in respect of Her Majesty’s Government’s plans to develop Internet and Learning Access Points and a government general practitioner service through Post Offices or by other means, and how any such resources will be applied.

Ross Finnie: The Executive received a funding consequential of £3.5 million as a result of money being allocated in England for the support of pilots of Government General Practitioners (GGPs) and Internet Learning & Access Points (ILAPs). All funding consequentials contribute to a block allocation to the Executive which was part of the Strategic Spending Review. The outcome of this process was that specific funding was not allocated for support of the Post Office network in Scotland.

  The Executive, whilst recognising the importance of the Post Office in providing services across Scotland, particularly in remoter rural areas and deprived urban areas, took a different approach to that adopted in England and one of the successful bids for funding from the Modernising Government Fund, announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 18 December, was the Digital Highland project which includes piloting ways of delivering services through the Post Office network in the Highlands, including GGP and ILAP elements.

MMR Vaccine

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost would be of the introduction of single vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella.

Susan Deacon: The licensing and safety of medicines is a reserved matter. The following information has been provided by the Department of Health.

  The price of vaccines would be negotiated with manufacturers in line with EU Government tendering requirements.

MMR Vaccine

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a copy of the study into the MMR vaccine conducted by researchers in Finland and recently reported by the media; if so, whether it is using this study as a basis for any actions or advice, and whether it will place a copy of the study in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Malcolm Chisholm: This study was reported in the American Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal (vol 19 No 12, December 2000) which is accessible by the Parliament Reference Centre. The Executive’s policies in regard to MMR vaccination are based on the independent expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which considers relevant evidence coming to light on the safety of MMR and will therefore have regard to this study.

  The aim of the study, which involved two million individuals, was to identify over the period 1982 to 1996 serious adverse events causally related to MMR vaccination. One conclusion of the study was that "No cases of autism were associated with MMR vaccination during this 14-year follow-up." Preliminary impressions are that this is a scientifically rigorous piece of work.

Medical Research

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support is being given to the Roslin Institute to develop anti-cancer proteins by breeding genetically modified chickens; what the estimated timetable is for this research leading to the clinical trials of a drug, and whether it is aware whether any such trials will be carried out in Scotland in partnership with the NHS.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive does not contribute funding to the Roslin Institute to support this work. As we have no locus in this research, it is not appropriate to comment on the project’s proposed timescales.

  It is the Executive’s policy to encourage patient entry into robust clinical trials. Any subsequent approaches to the NHSScotland which might bring benefit to patients with cancer would be considered by appropriate clinical and scientific groups.

Multiple Sclerosis

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Health Technology Board for Scotland to publish its findings regarding the prescription of Beta Interferon for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to answer given to question S1W-9432 on 27 November 2000.

NHS Staff

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to deal with any bullying and harassment experienced by health board staff.

Susan Deacon: Disciplinary action is a matter for the NHS employer. However, all NHSScotland employers are required to adopt the values and principles of the Dignity at Work: Eliminating Bullying and Harassment in the Workforce guidance, which I launched last month at the Scottish Partnership Conference. The guidance applies to all NHSScotland staff and has been developed through the Scottish Partnership Forum, which represents all NHSScotland staff groups. The performance of NHSScotland in complying with this guidance will be assessed through the new Staff Governance Standard announced in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change .

NHS Trusts

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much responsibility its Health Department and the Minister for Health and Community Care have in relation to NHS Trusts’ control of their budgets.

Susan Deacon: Scottish Ministers have responsibility for setting the financial targets that Trusts must meet, and for allocating resources to NHSScotland.

  Under section 15 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, the Chief Executive of a Trust, as the Accountable Officer, is answerable to Parliament for ensuring that the public funds for which they are responsible are properly managed and safeguarded.

NHS Trusts

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to encourage NHS Trusts to offer outpatient services to local clinics for those patients whose cardiac defibrillator was implanted at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Susan Deacon: The planning and delivery of health services of this kind is a matter for health boards and NHS Trusts, based on their assessment of the needs of those who use their services.

  The provision of an outreach service as suggested is therefore a matter for the North Glasgow NHS Trust, in consultation with health boards and other NHS Trusts in Scotland. I understand that there are no current plans to provide such a service.

Nursing

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the imposition of its efficiency saving targets has had on the number of nursing staff at senior grade and on the morale of nurses.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive Health Department has not set any efficiency target for the National Health Service in Scotland. Health boards may set targets for their local Trusts and any adverse effects would be for local management to consider and address.

  However, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change, published on 14 December, sets out a range of measures that will be taken to simplify the funding system to ensure resources are managed in as an efficient and effective way as possible. The plan also sets out our aims for working in partnership with staff, valuing and investing in their skills to help them perform and develop their full potential.

Opencast Mining

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make it its policy to minimise the number and scale of areas designated in structure plans for opencast coal mining.

Mr Sam Galbraith: There are no plans to revise existing policies. Structure plans are only expected to show broad search areas where opencasting may be acceptable. Local plans should define these areas in more detail. Planning authorities must still assess individual proposals on their merits, taking account of the robust framework in National Planning Policy   Guideline 16: Opencast Coal and Related Minerals and rejecting any proposals that are contrary to it.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer question S1W-11835.

Susan Deacon: Question S1W-11835 was answered today.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to ensure that MSPs can be provided with all necessary financial information relating to the annual cost per prisoner place at Kilmarnock prison.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service has published financial information in respect of the contract for HMP Kilmarnock.

  The total cost of HMP Kilmarnock over the 25-year period of the contract is approximately £130 million in net present value terms. This equates to an annual cost per prisoner place of around £11,000 in net present value terms.

  Further information is also available in the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts for 1999-2000.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to define prisoners as having mental health problems.

Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  Unlike mental disorder or illness where medical diagnostic categories may be applied, there are no established criteria for determining mental health problems of prisoners.

  Establishments operate multidisciplinary mental health teams, including medical and nursing psychologist, social work and other staff. Inpatient beds are provided in three hub establishments (Barlinnie, Perth and Polmont).

Prison Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports of bullying and intimidation by colleagues were lodged by staff and management in the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Over the last three years there have been 13 reports of bullying and intimidation formally presented to the agency’s Equal Opportunities Officer.

  


1998
  

2 cases
  



1999
  

6 cases
  



2000
  

5 cases
  



  Since 1998 when the SPS launched its Code of Conduct, incidents can be dealt with locally under informal or formal arrangements. Information on local resolution of cases is not collected centrally.

Prison Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to update any anti-workplace bullying strategies within the Scottish Prison Service.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  No. On 1 September 2000, the Scottish Prison Service launched a new strategy document entitled "How to challenge and change unacceptable behaviour in the SPS", together with a booklet on the standards of behaviour expected of employees.

  This initiative offers staff help, advice and support when dealing with workplace harassment, discrimination, victimisation, bullying and all forms of unacceptable behaviour.

Prison Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide statistics on the number of stress-related illnesses suffered by prison officers and other Scottish Prison Service staff in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Stress-related illness among SPS staff from 1 September 1999 to 25 January 2001 accounted for 118 periods of absence from work. Data for earlier periods is not available.

Prison Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide statistics on the incidence of depressive illness among staff in each of the last three years in the Scottish Prison Service.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Depressive illness among SPS staff from 1 September 1999 to 25 January 2001 accounted for 62 periods of absence from work. Data for earlier periods is not available.

Public Holidays

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make St Andrew’s day a national holiday.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive has no such plans.

Rail Freight

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with rail freight operating companies about any difficulties they are experiencing in accessing the rail system at appropriate times.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the rail freight operating companies with regard to national rail policy. The Government’s Rail Recovery Action Group is committed to restoring the rail network to normal operations as soon as possible for all operators, including freight.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has withdrawn from participation in the road user charging trial at Hermiston Gait, Edinburgh and, if so, what alternative proposals it now has to assess the practicality of electronic charging schemes.

Sarah Boyack: The direction of our policy has altered since Hermiston Gait on the M8 was identified in 1998 as a suitable location for research on inter-urban charging. We have made it clear that there will be no charges on existing trunk roads and motorways. The Executive will concentrate on supporting local authority initiatives and technology appropriate in line with the enabling powers in the Transport (Scotland) Bill for urban situations. Hermiston Gait will not now be included in the DETR research. My reply to question S1W-12046 sets out a programme of research on road user charging from which the Executive expects to benefit.

Scottish Arts Council

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Arts Council spent per annum in the Stirling local authority area in the last three years and how this compares with the average amount per local authority area.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Arts Council spending in the Stirling local authority area in the years in question was:

  

 

1997-98 (£)
  

1998-99 (£)
  

1999-2000 (£)
  



Lottery funding
  

294,051
  

3,196,041*
  

3,782,172**
  



Average LA allocation
  

1,149,433
  

614,482
  

509,458
  



  *  Includes capital funding of £3.1 million for the Stirling Tolbooth project.

  ** Includes capital funding of £3.35 million for the McRobert Centre project.

  

 

1997-98 (£)
  

1998-99 (£)
  

1999-2000 (£)
  



Voted funds
  

216,764
  

222,706
  

330,285
  



Average LA allocation***
  

404,733
  

407,287
  

429,152
  



  *** Excluding National Companies.

Scottish Executive Buildings

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has identified since 1 July 1999 any areas where the environmental management of its departments and buildings could be improved.

Angus Mackay: The Scottish Executive reviews on a continuous basis the environmental performance of its buildings with a view to making improvements where possible. The Executive is currently reviewing its Statement, made in 1998, which sets out environmental objectives for the management of our buildings. Since 1999 we have introduced a range of environmental management improvements.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the precise role of Tactica Solutions is in the design and production of its documents.

Angus MacKay: Tactica Solutions provides a managed service for the design, print and production of documentation for the Scottish Executive. Its role covers the full document life cycle, including creative design and artwork, lithographic and digital print production, publication, web enablement, storage and distribution.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Tactica Solutions changes the content of any documents given to it for design and production on its behalf.

Angus MacKay: Tactica Solutions is responsible for managing the design and production of documents but not their textual content which is determined and approved in both draft and published format by the Scottish Executive.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was to it of each document which bears the phrase "Designed and produced for the Scottish Executive by Tactica Solutions" up to the point at which it was handed over to Tactica Solutions for design and production.

Angus MacKay: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it does not go direct to the sub-contractors used by Tactica Solutions and what profit margin Tactica Solutions charges on work carried out by these sub-contractors.

Angus MacKay: The contract with Tactica Solutions is for the provision of a managed service for the design, print and publication of documents. The Scottish Executive does not have the resources or skills required to manage the sub-contractors. Tactica Solutions was awarded the business following open competition and its profit margins are an internal company matter.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10969 by Angus Mackay on 18 January 2001, what the precise role of each sub-contractor is in the design and production process of each document.

Angus MacKay: The contract between Tactica Solutions and the Scottish Executive requires Tactica to provide a complete service. It is the responsibility of Tactica to determine the role of its sub-contractors to meet the variations in both the nature and volume of demands placed by the Scottish Executive. Accordingly, the information requested is not held by the Scottish Executive.

Scottish Executive Staff

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time members of staff were employed by its agencies or non-departmental public bodies in each local authority area in each year since 1996.

Angus MacKay: The numbers of full-time staff employed in the Scottish Executive agencies is shown in the following table. Comparisons between years is not straightforward, due to the creation of agencies during the period.

  




1996
  

1997
  

1998
  

1999
  

2000
  



Aberdeen City
  

187
  

188
  

397
  

436
  

425
  



Aberdeenshire
  

265
  

270
  

281
  

294
  

290
  



Angus
  

90
  

88
  

93
  

91
  

92
  



Argyll and Bute
  

20
  

21
  

22
  

22
  

33
  



City of Edinburgh
  

2,531
  

2,513
  

2,556
  

2,673
  

2,831
  



Clackmannanshire
  

437
  

435
  

456
  

476
  

470
  



Dumfries and Galloway
  

219
  

203
  

228
  

234
  

195
  



Dundee City
  

23
  

23
  

21
  

21
  

20
  



East Ayrshire
  

21
  

20
  

23
  

23
  

22
  



East Dunbartonshire
  

156
  

155
  

161
  

156
  

154
  



East Lothian
  

17
  

17
  

17
  

17
  

18
  



Eilean Siar
  

13
  

13
  

13
  

13
  

13
  



Falkirk
  

371
  

374
  

399
  

406
  

392
  



Fife
  

55
  

55
  

56
  

57
  

54
  



Glasgow City
  

804
  

836
  

882
  

920
  

900
  



Highlands
  

194
  

192
  

199
  

205
  

209
  



Inverclyde
  

244
  

257
  

256
  

252
  

268
  



Moray
  

21
  

22
  

23
  

23
  

22
  



North Lanarkshire
  

629
  

627
  

634
  

660
  

585
  



Orkney
  

18
  

19
  

25
  

25
  

25
  



Perth and Kinross
  

524
  

524
  

557
  

547
  

549
  



Renfrewshire
  

28
  

26
  

27
  

26
  

28
  



Scottish Borders
  

23
  

23
  

23
  

22
  

21
  



Shetland
  

13
  

13
  

13
  

12
  

12
  



South Ayrshire
  

19
  

22
  

24
  

24
  

22
  



South Lanarkshire
  

125
  

127
  

135
  

140
  

128
  



Stirling
  

226
  

247
  

261
  

272
  

266
  



West Dunbartonshire
  

22
  

23
  

23
  

23
  

23
  



West Lothian
  

39
  

42
  

40
  

39
  

37
  



  The number of staff employed in non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Fund

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the value of the surplus of the Scottish Transport Group pension fund currently is.

Sarah Boyack: The most recent annual report of the Scottish Transport Group showed the value of the surplus at 31 March 2000 to be approximately £146 million (net of tax).

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the criteria against which applications for Social Inclusion Partnership funds which have become available as the result of a capital underspend are judged differ from those applied in other circumstances.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended timescale is to allow organisations to apply for Social Inclusion Partnership funds which have become available as a result of capital underspend.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued in relation to capital underspends of Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether nine working days is a reasonable time to allow organisations to apply for Social Inclusion Partnerships funds which become available as a result of a capital underspend.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive expects all Social Inclusion Partnerships to allocate funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of grant. These are currently being revised. Once the revisions are complete a copy will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Other than the requirement to comply with the terms and conditions of grant, it is for partnerships to decide how to allocate resources from the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund, including those arising as a result of slippage on other projects.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12336 by Nicol Stephen on 22 January 2001, whether it will provide further details of the early intervention programme for children with special educational needs, in particular how the £1 million allocated to the programme is being utilised.

Nicol Stephen: The early intervention funding is specifically for the development and training of staff working with pupils with special educational needs in the early years. Local authorities receive a pro-rata share of the £1 million based on pupil numbers.

  A wide variety of training requirements is addressed including training in early years behaviour difficulties; training for nursery support staff; ICT for special schools; attendance at early years language seminars; target setting and Individualised Educational Programme courses; training in working with families of autistic children, and accreditation such as the Certificate in Dyslexia.

Sport

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Executive plans to make Scotland more attractive as a venue for major sporting events.

Henry McLeish: Our bid for the Ryder Cup has been based on a partnership between the Executive its agencies and the private sector. We shall build on that experience in developing our wider strategy for major events in the course of this year.

Sport

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund extended opening of community sports facilities.

Allan Wilson: The provision of leisure facilities, including community sports facilities, is a matter for individual local authorities in accordance with the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982.

Telecommunications

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much rent is received annually by each of the emergency services from mobile phone companies through the rental of roof space for mobile phone masts.

Mr Jim Wallace: The police service receives £38,899 annually from mobile phone companies through the rental of roof space for mobile phone masts and the fire service receives £3,260. Information for the ambulance service is not held centrally.

Telecommunications

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fire stations have mobile phone masts attached to the building, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information from fire authorities is that there are two such fire stations, namely Dyce Fire Station in Aberdeen City and Arbroath Fire Station in Angus.

Textile Industry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been made available to the textile industry in the Borders since 6 June 2000.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Companies are supported by a very wide variety of programmes from the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Enterprise Networks and other public sector bodies. Scottish Enterprise Borders received an additional £2.3 million in the current year to help meet the challenges the area is facing, the third year of increased funding. The LEC estimates that this has helped it to provide some £700,000 to textile companies in the Borders since 6 June 2000. In addition, a Faraday award of £1.2 million has been awarded by the DTI to the Technitex project, a collaborative project across the UK led by Heriot Watt at Galashiels. The total value of support is dependent on the extent to which companies and other bodies involved in the industry come forward with eligible projects and proposals.

Tourism

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will promote Scotland’s distinctive attractions to encourage tourism.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive’s New Strategy for Scottish Tourism contains many new actions designed to grow tourism throughout Scotland. Visitscotland is the lead agency in promoting Scotland’s attractions and encouraging tourism. Implementation of the recommendations contained in the recent Management Review of visitscotland will help to strengthen the Scottish tourism industry.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline all research commissioned or about to be commissioned into the development and implications of local urban road charging schemes.

Sarah Boyack: We have commissioned research on the range of impacts of road user charging within the area of City of Edinburgh Council and on optimal charging levels.

War Memorials

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to help with the erection of a suitable and lasting national memorial to the pipers of the Highland regiments who fought in the First World War.

Allan Wilson: The National War Museum of Scotland which was recently opened at Edinburgh Castle is a tribute to all soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the conflict of all wars. The special role of the piper is acknowledged in several displays of the National War Museum and a set of pipes dating from the First World War believed to be from a Highland regiment is included on display.

Water

Mr Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to implement the new EC Water Framework Directive.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The EC Water Framework Directive (2000/060/EC) came into force on the 22 December 2000. The Directive has a wide scope and requires fundamental changes in the way we manage our natural water resources in Scotland. For that reason we propose to transpose its provisions into law by means of primary legislation in this Parliament. As with all legislative commitments this will be subject to finding space in the legislative timetable. We hope to introduce the Bill in 2002.

  We intend to take an open approach to the implementation of the Directive with thorough consultation at every stage. As a first step, I have published a leaflet today that outlines the main provisions of the Directive and invites comments from anyone with an interest. The next stage will be a comprehensive consultation paper that will issue later this year.

Water Charges

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact this year’s increase in water and sewerage rates has had on small voluntary organisations.

Mr Sam Galbraith: In the case of premises such as charity shops, offices and depots whose relief from water charges began to be phased out from 1 April 2000, the impact of increased charges and withdrawal is set out in the following table:

  


Year
  

Total Net Revenue
  



1999-2000
  

£2,223,596
  



2000-01
  

£3,160,163
  



Change
  

£936,567
  



  The charges are being phased out over five years, and the costs above represent the impact of the first stage of withdrawal, which is 20% of total reliefs for the organisations concerned.

Water Charges

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist charities that have lost rates relief following decisions by the water authorities to end such relief.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-2755 on 11 January 2001.